Chapter 19

"Hi guys! You got the party started without me?"

All eyes bore straight into him. Not a single word was uttered among the large group of attendees. It was as if they had just seen a ghost, like they had seen something that was completely unusual and couldn't be unseen. No one could believe that the missing guest was finally at the scene after what seemed like a while. Especially Gohan, who had just slid his empty cup into a smoothie machine when he caught sight of his unpunctual father. Buu, Mr. Satan, Krillin, Yamcha, Tienshinhan, Chiaotzu, Oolong, Piccolo, Bulma, Trunks… everyone he knew went dead silent at his presence. They knew he was coming, but it was still a total surprise to them.

Goku let out a nervous laugh at the unblinking stares and scratched the back of his head. He didn't know what to say, being late and all. Despite his shock at seeing his best friend Krillin mustered up the courage to ask, "B-Buddy? A-Are you really here?"

"Uhhh… haha yeah, that's me!" Goku removed his hand from his head with a smile as he exchanged glances with all his friends. "I didn't intend to come in late, though."

The Saiyan stood where he was as he waited patiently but somewhat nervous for a response. Part of him was expecting to be admonished for his lateness but then-

"Oh my god… GOKU!"

"Glad you could make it!"

"Welcome back!"

"Where have you been, buddy?"

"Good to see you here!"

"You've finally come!"

"At long last!"

"I can hardly believe it!"

"You've finally shown yourself!"

"Hehe, my old student is finally here!"

Before Goku knew it, he was swarmed by all of his friends who were soon out of their seats and huddling over him in a circle to give him a proper welcome. Krillin, Yamcha and Tienshinhan clapped him on the back, Eighteen just gave him a small pat on the shoulder as she used one arm to hold Marron who extended a small hand towards him, while Puar hovered over him. The rest of the z warriors did similar gestures as a way of welcoming him as it had been a little while since they had been in contact. Dr. and Mrs. Briefs gave the Saiyan a warm welcome. Same with Puar and Chiaotzu. Vegeta was also aware of his rival's presence, but didn't make a move to greet him as he just stood in the same spot away from everyone else.

"DAD, YOU'RE HERE!"

Gohan bustled through the large crowd and over to his father, enveloping the older man in a sudden embrace that caught him off guard. As Goku was registering what just happened, he slowly responded to his teenage son's hug as his arms were clasped around Gohan's entire being. Everyone watched in happy silence as father and son clung onto each other for the longest period of time, as if they would be nothing without it. Their hug had a certain kind of warmth to it. Fierce but affectionate.

"It's so good to see you again, Gohan…" Goku whispered as his fingers were pressed into his son's back.

"I feel the same." Gohan mumbled back as he laid his head on his father's shoulder.

The Saiyan pulled Gohan's head back, but had both of his hands situated on his shoulders, face sporting his usual grin. "How have you been recently?"

"I've been great!"

There was a bit of silence between the two as Goku made an attempt to sense his younger son's ki. After trying so hard, he couldn't sense anything. Not a single trace of his cheerful and hyperactive little boy anywhere in sight. He let out a sad sigh as he once again looked around the compound in a last-ditch effort. "I'm guessing Goten didn't come with you, right?"

Gohan didn't want to spoil the planned surprise, so he thought hard of a believable excuse to tell his father. "Well… actually, he stayed playing a little bit more with Bee at Mr. Satan's place. He'll be here later, dad."

"Oh, okay. That's fine." Though he still couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as he wanted to see his younger son upon his arrival here, he supposed that it wouldn't hurt to be a little patient.

Seeing that her boyfriend's father was still a little dejected, Videl decided to help clear the air. "Just as he says, Goku. You know that Goten loves playing with Bee!"

He smiled at that last bit as this brought back old memories. "I know. He sure loves animals… it reminds me of when we were back at Mount Paozu. The sight of all that nature and wildlife made him happy."

Gohan sighed in relief, as he was secretly glad his father bought their little lie. "Don't worry dad, he'll be here for sure."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it." He stared ahead at the yard. First, at Marron's game lying on the table, then at the other occupied tables with half-eaten lunches or disposable cups either filled to the brim or half-empty, then at the spot where the two teenagers were practicing with their musical instruments. Then his eyes lingered over at the DJ still playing the music with as much energy as he could. The party had already started, and he couldn't help but curse at himself for not coming in sooner. "But did you guys really get the party started without me?"

Bulma put her hands on her hips as she glanced over at the buffet then back at him firmly. "Well Goku, we couldn't just allow the food to get cold while you were running late, don't you think?"

Goku let out that same nervous laugh. "Hehe yeah… I kinda get what you mean. Looking back, I do have a track record of never showing up on time for any event you plan."

"Yeah." Bulma laughed. "Unpunctuality is something natural on you."

"I guess so..."

"But at least, you weren't that late this time. Half an hour is not that much, but it's still progress." His friend said in reassurance.

"Hehe, I guess..."

Gohan stepped forward and rested a hand on his father's shoulder. "All that matters is that you're finally here, dad. So don't fret."

"Yeah! And it's great to see you again, son!"

Suno and Eighter stood to the side as Goku was surrounded by all his friends and his older son. Both were thinking the exact same thing. Neither one could believe that after hearing so many stories about the z warriors, they were meeting them for the first time. Everyone seemed so overjoyed at the Saiyan's presence, which improved the mood of the duo in return. Suno was watching the joyful reunion while thinking to herself, 'So those are Goku's friends? Incredible… they seem like really friendly people. And THAT'S Goku's older son!? He seems like a really outgoing guy!'

'Goku's friends and older son all seem like really nice people.' Eighter thought to himself as he stood beside Suno and watched Goku try and return greetings to each and every guest at the scene. 'Goku seems really happy with them…'

They continued to watch in silence as Goku interacted with Gohan and the rest of his friends. While they were conversing, the Saiyan had the pleasure of meeting Erasa and Sharpener, his son's two classmates and best friends. They told him about their plans to perform a song here at the party as the Orange Star Band and that Angela, another one of their friends, was to be the singer of the band. He was ecstatic at hearing this and wished both teenagers the best of luck with their performance to which both showed their thanks and appreciation. They returned to their band practice and from there, Goku focused his attention back on his friends and older son. He commended Bulma for putting together this whole party, and as she told everyone else it wasn't just her, but the entire Briefs family including a 'certain someone' but his friend refused to specify who it was and that she would be here soon to join the party as she was currently preoccupied with something.

"You really dressed nicely for this occasion, didn't you Goku?" Master Roshi asked his former student as he looked him up and down.

"I'm surprised, buddy!" Yamcha complimented his friend. "It's very rare to see you go all out with clothing."

"Hehe, well… since this was a reunion party, I wanted to look my best, you know?"

"And you do look your best!" Bulma said, flashing him a smile.

Goku ran a finger through his hair. "Thanks Bulma."

"Aw, don't mention it."

"I still can't believe it though… you set all this up for me?"

"Mostly for you due to the recent events, but this is for everyone else too. Don't worry, there's plenty of food here since you're not the only Saiyan around." Bulma said with a wink as she thought of her husband, son and Goten.

"Whoa… thanks Bulma. And thanks guys for putting all this together." Goku said in gratitude to the Briefs family.

"No big deal."

Krillin stared past the others and he blinked a few times, having noticed two new guests. "Hold on… who are those two over there?"

Eighteen quickly set Marron back at the table where her game was before turning to her husband. "What do you mean, honey?"

Oolong also looked at Krillin in confusion. "Yeah, what are you talking about?"

"Look over there!" Krillin pointed to the two new attendees staring awkwardly at them.

At the mention of this, Goku quickly turned around and saw Suno and Eighter standing off to the side. He once again cursed at himself because he had been so preoccupied with his friends and Gohan that he had completely forgotten about the both of them. He instantly became apologetic to them both. "Oh I'm so, so sorry you two! I totally forgot you were there. Come so I can get you both acquainted with my friends!"

The new guests shyly stepped forward and Goku placed a hand behind Suno and Eighter's backs, gently shoving them into view of everyone else. He then placed two warm hands on either side of his girlfriend's shoulders. "Guys, this is my dear childhood friend, Suno." The Saiyan then pointed a finger to the android. "And this is Eighter. He may look scary, but I can assure you that he's a really nice guy. Both Suno and Eighter are from Jingle Village!"

'Eighter… Suno… they're the same people dad was talking about…' When those names were brought up, voices of everyone greeting the two new attendees were drowned out as he thought back to the story his father told him in the hyperbolic time chamber, as well as him sharing that same story to Videl and the others after he returned from General White's mansion.

Bulma, Videl, Gohan and Roshi all stared at each other, each of them wide-eyed in shock as they all had the same thought floating in their minds. Bulma who stood closest to Gohan, tapped him on the shoulder. Once his attention was fixated on her she leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, "Holy crap, you were right when you assumed before that Suno was one of the people your father was bringing to the party!"

"I can't believe it either…" Gohan gazed over to the crowd of people asking an endless number of questions to the new attendees but thankfully, no one seemed to notice them apart. He faintly heard Eighteen and Panchy complimenting Suno's choice of clothing for the occasion but aside from that, he hadn't paid much attention to anything else that was said.

"I thought for sure that it might have been someone else. Your father has made plenty of friends over the years." Bulma whispered back.

"Well, it's because of the way he is."

"You're right. Now come on, let's go and join the others!"

After that brief exchange, the duo then returned to the joyful crowd of guests. Most of them were shocked by Eighter's tremendous height, but they knew he wouldn't be here if he was still a bad guy. Suno and Eighter seemed a bit shy around some of the guests at first, but they were immediately put at ease and were speaking more confidently. Well… mostly Suno as Eighter wasn't quite used to opening up to people like his friend was.

The former bandit moved through the crowd and extended a hand towards the female. "Hi there, I'm Yamcha!"

Suno turned around and accepted the friendly handshake with a smile. "It's very nice to meet you, Yamcha!"

Puar then flew up to Suno, until she was floating right in front of her. "And my name is Puar, Yamcha's best friend! Nice to meet another friend of Goku's!"

"Aw, nice to meet you too, Puar!" Suno beamed and scratched the blue cat on the head. "You certainly make great company for Yamcha!"

"Thanks."

Eighter gazed down at the bandit with a small smile, "Nice to meet the both of you."

Yamcha had to look up in order to see the android's face. "I still can't believe how big you are… but no worries. It's a pleasure to meet you too!"

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Eighter!" Puar chimed in.

Eighter and Yamcha shook hands. After talking a bit with Yamcha and Puar, the two Jingle Village residents separated from them and took a step back. Not too long after that, they heard a voice behind them.

"Hey you two!"

Both came face-to-face with Tienshinhan and his partner Chiaotzu. The three-eyed warrior walked up to the duo and he offered his hand to them just as Yamcha did. "I'm Tien, and this is my partner Chiaotzu. Pleasure to meet you!"

"Real, nice pleasure to meet you both!" Chiaotzu said happily.

"Nice to meet you." Eighter quietly said to the two.

Suno took Tien's hand in a firm handshake. "Good to meet you too, Tien. Heard a lot about you from Goku."

"Awesome meeting you Suno. Him and I didn't exactly start off as friends but well… we are now. He changed our lives for the better." Tien let go of her hand and looked towards the Saiyan.

Goku felt relieved that they were getting along fairly well with his friends and former enemies. After speaking with Tien and Chiaotzu who delved a bit deeper into their history with the Saiyan, another person chose this moment to make his presence known to them.

"What's up, you two? I'm Krillin, by the way. Nice seeing you here for the first time."

"Hi Krillin. It's a pleasure to meet you too. We already heard about you." Eighter spoke first. "You're Goku's best friend, right?"

"I sure am." Krillin replied as he shook hands with both Jingle Village residents and took a brief glance at his Saiyan friend. "We've been through so much together."

"It's nice to meet you finally, Krillin!" Suno said with a hearty expression, ecstatic at the sight of the shorter man.

"Nice to meet you too Suno! I didn't think in my lifetime that I would meet another one of Goku's friends."

From that point, the two village residents talked a bit with Krillin, mostly with the short man reminiscing on some of the memorable and silly stuff he went through with Goku in the past back when they were children and when they became adults. After their pleasant talk, Krillin went back to his android wife while Suno encouraged Eighter to talk more with Goku's friends and get to know them better and as such, the two were separated for a while.

As she was enjoying the fresh air out on the compound, Suno was approached by another one of the party guests who waved a hand out to catch her attention. "Hi there! I'm Videl, Gohan's girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you, Videl! Goku already told me about you."

"He did?" Videl asked out of curiosity.

Suno replied but kept it short, "Yeah. He told me about the time you started dating Gohan."

Videl started to sigh dreamily at that as she thought of her dear boyfriend. "That's true. Gohan's been a real sweetheart since we became a couple. I couldn't imagine my life without him."

A soft smile grazed her lips. "I can tell that he's a great companion for you."

"He really is…" Videl's dreamy look then disappeared and her eyes suddenly shot up, looking in all directions as if in a frantic. "Oh, wait! I don't think you've met my father yet. Let me go get him!"

She snapped her fingers in recollection. "Ohh right! The world champion, Mr. Satan!"

"Bingo!"

"I do remember him."

"Wait here!"

She watched as Videl disappeared off into the crowd of z warriors and into the yards in search of her father. As she waited patiently, she leaned against a wall and hummed to herself. In no time at all, Videl appeared back at the same spot with an older man in tow.

"Suno, meet my father, Hercule Satan."

"Hello, Mr. Satan. It's a pleasure to meet you in person." Suno greeted politely. Despite knowing that he didn't really save the world, she still had a great respect for him.

"It's nice to meet you too, Suno!" Mr. Satan said as they shook hands.

As she looked between father and daughter, she couldn't help but comment with a smile, "With one of the strongest people in the world as her father, it's no wonder Videl is super strong, sir!"

Mr. Satan chuckled, "I guess you could say that."

Suno was curious about something, so she decided to get a conversation started. "So… how do you feel about Gohan dating Videl?"

"To be honest, I wasn't too fond of my daughter dating at first, but Gohan proved that he loves and cares for Videl. He makes my daughter happy. So if she's happy with him, then that's all that matters to me." Mr. Satan stated firmly.

Videl did a brief clap. "Well said, dad!"

Hercule glanced over and pointed to his pink friend at one of the buffet tables stuffing himself with sweets. "Over there is my friend Buu!"

Suno was rendered speechless at the sight. "Woah… he looks just as big as Eighter! And it seems like he eats just as much as Goku does!"

"Buu loves to stuff himself with candy." Mr. Satan explained with a laugh. "I've lost track of how long he's been at it."

Suno was still shocked at the sight of him stuffing down piles of candy. "Well… I hope there's enough candy for the rest of the party!"

"Don't worry, there's more candy just in case this batch finishes." said Bulma who was seen approaching the three.

Videl felt relieved. "Phew! Thank goodness!"

"That's good news!" Hercule let out a relieved sigh.

"I'm glad to hear that, Bulma." Suno sighed in relief.

"Have you and Eighter met everyone else?" Bulma inquired.

Suno tapped her chin in thought. "Most of them. We've both talked to Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, Puar, Piccolo… and I've yet to speak with Gohan."

"Good to hear." Bulma said in approval with one hand on her hip.

"This party seems pretty great." Suno looked around once more at the decorations, tables, and the large buffet of food and drinks.

Bulma put her arm around the younger woman as if they were best pals already. "This has only just begun Suno…"

"I can't wait!"

After that, the four returned to the other z warriors. Bulma decided that it was time for them to return to the yards now that the two new guests were comfortable around everyone. Once she announced that they return back to the party, everyone was instantly on board and as such, they started to head back. As they were on their way however-

"I hope you didn't forget about me, sis."

That sent Goku into a state of confusion and he stared ahead at the unfamiliar woman coming into view. "Uhhh… Bulma, who's she? And why did she call you sis?" Not only was he wondering about this, but the looks on everyone's faces made it clear they all wanted answers.

Bulma explains to everyone that this is her older sister, Tights. Much like her husband and son, everyone was very shocked to find out that Bulma had a sister with many of the z warriors wondering why she never mentioned this before. There was whispering and murmuring among the group about this mysterious woman, making Tights feel awkward around them. Bulma sighed and apologized to her sister for the reactions of the guests. But in due time, everyone became used to her presence and they soon returned back to the party.

The mood at Capsule Corporation became merrier than ever now that Goku was present to join his friends in on this festivity. Every guest now sat at their respective tables doing their own thing before the Saiyan had arrived at the scene with some occasionally getting up for more rounds of food, drink refills or dessert. Yamcha and Tien had invited the two new guests to sit with them for a while and as such, Suno and Eighter sat together with the warriors and shared stories about their lives at Jingle Village, with many of the guests listening in as they were also curious to know what Jingle Village was like. Goku and Gohan had a table all to themselves with both using this time to catch up on many things. Bulma would occasionally check up on the two, either for a small chat or to remind them that they could go for food if they were hungry.

Goku leaned back in his chair with his hands propped behind his head. "I'm really enjoying this. What about you Gohan?"

Gohan took a sip of his drink before he replied with a smile, "I'm having fun also. Especially now that you're here."

"I'm glad to hear that, and I'm happy that we get to spend time together like this." The Saiyan flashed a bright smile then sat back up in his seat. As much as he was having fun at this party with everyone else, the absence of his youngest was now starting to bother him. He glanced up at the sky then back at his oldest with a worried look. "It seems like Goten still isn't here. I know you said earlier that he was playing with Bee at Mr. Satan's place but-"

Gohan raised up a finger in front of his father. "But hold on dad!"

"Huh?"

Without saying anything, Gohan peered over at the highest treetop and gave out some strange signal which further confused his father. Before Goku could even ask what was up, something happened right after that signal. What came after that was unexpected. Highly unexpected. There was nothing… nothing on this planet that could have prepared him for what he was about to witness.

"DADDY, DADDY, DADDY!"

Goku froze in his chair as soon as he heard the voice, utterly shocked. He couldn't even react at first. That cheerful and hyperactive voice… it belonged to-

Though Goku didn't move at first, he slowly raised his head at the highest treetop to find none other than his youngest son Goten flying out of it and towards him at such an insane speed that he couldn't even comprehend it. Everything was happening so fast. Way too fast.

He blinked his eyes several times, questioning to himself whether or not this was real. His younger son who he hadn't seen since their separation was here, and coming at him so quickly. He still couldn't believe it. Was Goten here the entire time? It seemed like he was but if so, why had he been hiding in the treetop? And why did he mask his energy?

"G-GOTEN!? YOU'RE FINALLY HERE!? AFTER ALL THIS TIME!? Come here, little guy!" Like the overjoyed father he was, Goku extended his arms wide for his young son as he was ready to receive him in one of the biggest embraces of his whole life.

That didn't need to be said as Goten flew straight into him. The chair nearly toppled over from their weight, but Goku managed to keep it steady. Goten wrapped his arms around his father's neck in a tight hug, happy to see him again after all the time they were apart. His father held him in his arms like a newborn baby, hand running through his little son's spiky hair. A river of happy tears cascaded down his cheeks as he tightened the embrace. There were no words here. After several long weeks of being separated, they were finally reunited and he didn't want anything to ever break them apart again.

A series of loud cheers erupted among some of the guests as they all witnessed the father and son reunion. Krillin, Gohan, Yamcha, Puar, Tien, Chiaotzu, Piccolo, Master Roshi, Trunks, Eighteen and the other attendees watched with huge smiles as they hugged each other without saying a word. Gohan just remained seated in his chair, elated at seeing his father and brother reunited at long last and he felt proud of himself for the surprise idea they both came up with.

From the very same spot he stood in, Vegeta turned around briefly with folded arms to watch the family reunion before him and he couldn't help but let out a small smile as it reminded him of his own son Trunks.

Erasa and Sharpener momentarily paused their band practice to watch the heartfelt reunion between the two. The blonde girl started to tear up at the sight, resulting in Sharpener handing her a tissue which she used to wipe her tears. Bulma struggled to contain herself and Tights had an arm around her shoulder while letting a few tear droplets fall down her cheeks. Videl could also barely hold herself as she watched everything. Eighter and Suno watched the scene with shocked faces at first and eventually, Suno started to cry like the others as she too couldn't take how heartwarming this was.

"E-Eighter, do you see that?" She choked up while grabbing a box of tissues on their table. "T-That's Goku's younger son Goten… he's so adorable…"

While still keeping his sight on them, the android patted her on the back a few times before retracting his hand. "I'm happy to see Goku reunited with his son."

"Me too. They both deserve this." Suno took out a napkin from the box and dried her face.

They finally let go of the hug and both stared each other down, still not believing any of this. It was like them staring into some sort of dream world. "I've missed you so much, daddy!" Goten cried out.

"So did I! So did I… my son, I can't believe you're here. Every single night I couldn't stop thinking about you and Gohan…" Goku let out, holding both of his son's shoulders.

"I almost thought I wouldn't see you again!"

Goku beamed while lifting his son high up in the air, "And I thought the same. Right now, I'm the happiest man in the whole universe because you're here with me and our friends."

"I love you daddy…" Goten murmured while his father set him down on the grass.

"And I love you too, son. We have a lot to catch up on. Now come on, let's enjoy the party together!"

Both had stood up with Goku carrying his youngest with one arm and preparing to leave their table when something occurred to him. "Wait… before we go… I must ask, have you been hiding in that treetop the whole time? I couldn't sense your energy at all."

Goten laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah hehe, well… Gohan and I both decided that I would hide somewhere and mask my ki so when the time was right, I would come out of my hiding place and surprise you. So that's why I was taking cover inside that treetop."

"Hahaha well, it was a nice surprise!"

His eyes lit up. "Really daddy?"

Goku grinned. "Sure! And it was amazing seeing you fly out like that."

"Thanks daddy!"

"You're welcome son."

Goten looked around, seeing that there were so many options for them. "What do you wanna do first daddy?"

"Well… I'm a little thirsty, actually." Goku admitted.

"Okay, we should get a drink! I've been inside the tree for quite a while so I've kinda gotten a little thirsty too."

Goku grabbed his son and put him on his shoulders. "I can figure. Alright, let's go!"

"YAY!"

Now his usual happy-go-lucky self once more, Goku trotted over to the drink section with his younger son sitting on his shoulders. Everyone had decided at that moment to celebrate their well-deserved reunion and as such, they started to follow the duo. It didn't take much longer until the party was back in full swing and the whole Son Family had let themselves loose for the first time in a long while.